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Government Gazette

Credibility and good faith essential for sustainable ceasefire - Prof. G. L. Peiris

UK: The experience in Sri Lanka indicates that there are several circumstances which must exist before a ceasefire or cessation of hostilities can be sustainable, Professor G. L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade, said at a meeting with Malloch Brown, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in London.

One of the essential requirements is credibility and good faith, the Minister pointed out.

He referred to reports of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission which concluded that the LTTE was responsible for several thousands of deliberate violations of the Ceasefire Agreement, entered into between the Government and the LTTE in February 2002, in comparison with a small number of relatively trivial violations attributed to Sri Lankan armed forces.

This behaviour had resulted in a significant erosion of public confidence. A prominent feature of the Northern Ireland peace process was the focus on systematic progress towards decommissioning of weapons or laying down of arms over a period by the insurgent group, as an integral element of the issues discussed, he said.

The absence of this element in any form, even in stages, in the Sri Lankan situation amounted to a serious gap affecting the viability of the process and constituted a basic weakness, the consequences of which have become, apparent in recent months.

Moreover, a ceasefire becomes necessarily fragile if it is not linked to an opportunity for discussion of substantive issues. If this is not the case, the ceasefire is likely to become vulnerable sooner rather than later, Prof. Peiris said. A political dialogue is, therefore, essential.

However, since implementation is the key to a solution, a national consensus is a necessary basis, and the All - Party mechanism is useful from this point of view.

At meetings with John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Gareth Thomas, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Trade Policy, as well as in discussion with the Economic Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Prof. Peiris explained in detail the opportunities available to make the peace dividend a reality, now that the Eastern Province has been brought under Government control.

He urged the British Government to become partners in development activity in this area and to explore, together with the Government of Sri Lanka, avenues for expanding investment and trade, especially in the apparel sector.

The Minister met several business leaders in London with a view to developing Sri Lanka's external trade.

He urged Karan Bilimoria of Chelsea to help Sri Lanka through the network he had already built under the Indo - British Partnership.

He discussed with David Cox, Director, International Corporate Affairs of Tesco, a global leader in on-line grocery sales, the prospects for locating a Tesco regional supply or logistics hub in Sri Lanka.

The Minister made a series of proposals to Mr. Stuart Rose, Chief Executive Officer of Marks and Spencer about strengthening Sri Lanka as a supplier of quality garments. The focus of his meeting with Kevin Stovell, the Group Business Development Director of Mott McDonald Group, was participation in infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka.

Minister Peiris addressed a Round Table meeting organized by the U.K. - Sri Lanka Business Council at the Carlton Club in London.

He also spoke at Chatham House, the leading political Think Tank in the United Kingdom, on "The Current Situation in Sri Lanka: Challenges and Opportunities". Among those attending the presentation, in which a compelling case was made for the protection of Sri Lanka's trade and economic interests in the midst of the struggle against terrorism, were representatives of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Kshenuka Senewiratne, Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in the United Kingdom, was present at the discussions.

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